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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
The center of mass of the Earth is commonly taken as origin for the coordinate systems used in satellite geodesy. In this paper the notion of the “geocenter” is discussed from the point of view of mechanics and geophysics. It is shown that processes in and above the crust have practically no impact on the position of the geocenter. It is possible however that motions of the inner core may cause variations of the geocenter of the order of 1 m. Nevertheless the geocenter is the best point for the origin of a coordinate system. Mather’s method of monitoring geocenter motion is discussed, and some other possibilities are mentioned. Concerning the scale problem, the role of the constant GM and time measurements in satellite net determinations are briefly discussed.